A Catholic parish was reopened for the public after 22 years in the eastern Indian state of Odisha with the help of the civil authorities.
The Chandiput parish of the diocese of Berhampur was closed after a priest refused to accept his transfer and stayed on defying the local bishop.
On February 2, the parish celebrated its feast with its parishioners.
“It was a moment of great joy to celebrate Mass in the church after nine years,” Fr Kabiraj Bastaray, the current parish priest, told on February 3.
He was appointed the Chandiput parish priest in 2013, but could not enter the church or presbytery as its former priest Joseph Pani refused to vacate the place.
“I have been staying in a house offered by the villagers and offering Mass in an open space or in a convent,” he explained.

Pope Francis on Feb. 2 appointed Msgr Thomas J Netto as the new head of the Trivandrum Latin rite Archdiocese.
The Pope has also accepted the resignation of Archbishop M Calist Soosa Pakiam, who headed the archdiocese since February 2, 1990.
These details were made public at noon time in Rome, says a press release from Father Stephen Alathara, deputy secretary general of the Conference of Catholic Bishops in India, the national body for Latin rite bishop in the country.

Father A. Pitchaimuthu, a practitioner of Siddha medicine famous for composing the Catholic liturgy in folk style, died January 30 in Tamil Nadu, southern India. He was 82.
The death of the priest, who was also an educationist, occurred at 5:30 am in Viruthachalam town in Cuddalore district, some 225 km southwest of Chennai, the state capital.

Jesuit canonist and lawyer and a former professor in Delhi’s Vidyajyoti theologate died of Covid-19 January 26 in Dindigul town in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. He was 69. Fr. Jeyaseelan Thomas Barnabas suffered a massive heart attack and died at 7:30 am as he was taken to a hospital for Covid-19 treatment. He had fever and cold for the past few days and was tested Covid positive.

The Syro-Malabar Church on January 15 appointed new prelates for its Tellicherry archdiocese and Palghat diocese.
The Oriental Catholic Church’s bishops’ synod promoted, with the papal approval, Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Pamplany of Tellicherry as the archdiocese’s new prelate. He replaces Archbishop George Njaralakatt, who has retired.
Similarly, the synod has appointed Palghat Auxiliary Bishop Peter Kochu-purackal as the diocese’s new bishop. He replaces Bishop Jacob Manathodath, who too has retired.

Fr Joshua Edakadambil, an Indian Catholic priest serving in Ethiopia as a missionary was kidnapped by rebel soldiers but released him in 24 hours.
The member of the Order of the Imitation of Christ, or Bethany Ashram, has been working in the Apostolic Vicariate of Nekemte in the east Afri-can country. The 32-year-old priest was abducted while going to celebrate Mass in a mission station. They then took him to a forest and kept him in their custody.
Bishop Varghese Thottamkara, Vicar Apostolic of Nekemte, said the rebel soldiers took the Indian priest for mistaken identity. They released the priest after the Church negotiated with the rebels.

As many as 300 attacks on Christians have taken place in India in the past nine months, says a report of a fact-finding team. The report titled, “Christians Under Attack in India,” was released January 18 at a press conference in Jaipur, capital of the northwestern Indian state of Rajasthan.
The meet was organized by the Association for Protection of Civil Rights, United Christian Form, United Against Hate and Jaipur Catholic diocese at St. Anselm’s school in Jaipur’s Malviyanagar locality. Speaking on the attacks, Bishop Oswald Lewis of Jaipur noted that India is a country where every religion is respected and their followers have been living together with peace and harmony for centuries.
But in the past few years the minority groups have been targeted especially Christians and Muslims. It is being done by some fringe groups to destabilize the unity of the country,” the Catholic prelate bemoaned.
Bishop Lewis also said, “It is sad to see that a community that has been offering its service to everyone in the country especially the poor and marginalized, has become the target. Such attacks are on increase. Besides, the inaction of the government encourages such groups who go unpunished. The government must take stern actions against them to preserve the unity and democracy of the country.”
The Rajasthan state president of the Association for Protection of Civil Rights, Advocate Saiyad Saadat Ali said, “Our country is a secular country where everyone has the right to profess and propagate their faith. But there are some people who want to snatch away from their rights. Since some days there has been continues attacks on Christians which must be condemned. The peace loving people of the country must come forward to stop such atrocities.”